Arts Hound

Come one, come all: Due to the absence of the Eugene Celebration this year, The New Zone Gallery has rescheduled its popular non-juried Salon du Peuple exhibit to kick off during First Friday ArtWalk Oct. 3. Artists can submit 2D and 3D works noon to 6 pm Saturday, Sept. 27, at the gallery (164 W. Broadway).

Felt fashion: Portland jeweler O’Pearl Brands has commissioned Eugene fiber artist Tylar Merrill of Thimbleberry Felt Designs to provide attire for the Portland Fashion Week runway show 7 to 10 pm Wednesday, Oct. 1, at the Pioneer Courthouse Square. “It’s kind of the beginning of a really nice working collaboration and relationship,” Merrill tells EW. “I’ve been felting for a long, long time. Typically I’ve been making outer garments.” In 2014, Merrill started focusing on creating lightweight dresses, blouses and skirts. “I typically start working with a silk gauze. Unlike many fashion designers, I design the garment, the fabric and it all happens at once,” she says. “Mine are actually all made with wool fiber — they’re meshed together. I rub the wool into the silk by using soap and water, a swimming pool noodle, bubble wrap — rolled up and tied with nylon stockings. I roll it 2,000 times.” And that’s only the pre-felting stage. This will be Merrill’s first Portland Fashion Week; she will be showing again with O’Pearl in the spring and hopes to participate in Eugene Fashion Week next year. To see more of Merrill’s work, visit tylarmerrill.com.